


Attack on Zombies

by Storm_Louise



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst and Tragedy, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Sorry Not Sorry, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, there is no happy ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:55:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29113398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Storm_Louise/pseuds/Storm_Louise
Summary: Things go from bad to worse for this rag tag group of survivors, have they really found the cure, will they make it out of the city in time, or will everything end in flames?
Kudos: 2





	1. Seven Days After Infection

The sun rose over the burning city, nothing moved for a while but as the land warmed, the dead rose once more. It had been this way for seven days, one man watched from an apartment window, it wasn't his place but it was safe and fully stocked with food. The man was a police officer, or he was before the infection. A loud crash came from the apartment kitchen. The man sighed, shook his head, and rubbed his undercut, his long fringe falling into his eyes. He had been in the two bed apartment with his fellow senior officer and two rookies for three days now and it was beginning to annoy him.

"Will you blockheads knock-it-off?!" He said in a hushed shout, looking over his shoulder at the door frame where a hand now stuck waving an apology, loud noises drew the infected. He rolled his silver eyes and turned back to the window watching the sun reflect off the waves of the nearby sea. The beach town had been his chance to step away from the action, being a soldier took its toll but the action seemed to follow him.

"Sir-?" He had been interrupted again. He looked over to see his fellow senior officer, a black-haired girl, his sister. They had been separated since he went to war but fate has a way of putting you with people you love in times of need; he was just glad to be with her, all their family had passed away. "Yes, Mikasa?" She met his hard heavily lidded silver-eyed gaze with an equally hard heavily lidded grey-eyed look before replying. "Levi-sir; Do you think it's wise to stay here, I mean in the city, there are likely more infected here than other places?" She made a good point but leaving was out of the question. "Did the rookies ask you to ask me?" She shot a glance over at the door frame where the two rookies stood watching. One was quite small and timid looking, his long blond hair made it so he could easily be mistaken for a girl; the other was taller and wore a hard look even for someone so young, he had a two-tone undercut which was slightly messy, no doubt from their restless nights.

"I'll say this once more; while I am in charge, we stay where it's safe, and it's safe here." He then turned back to the window and heard the other officer's leave the room, he was being harsh but he had been out there, with the infected - it was something he would much rather forget than relive. As the sun rose higher overhead, Levi smelt the makings of tea and lunch. Rationing the food was probably the hardest part, they had all resolved to eat one full meal a day to keep them from dying, they needed to survive whatever this infection was. 

Lunch was served at the table which had enough seats for everyone, they mostly ate in silence but were glad of any conversation. "Say, Armin how-'bout we go get drinks after this thing blows over?" The two-tone rookie asks breaking the silence. The blond rookie, Armin, replied. "Jean, if this thing blows over, you can buy the first round." 

Jean smiled and replied. "You're on, Arlert." Jean and Armin shook hands to make a deal, Armin smiled broadly. "I'm going to win, Kirstein, I always win bets with you." Mikasa laughed at the pair's interaction while Levi sipped his tea, quietly ignoring them before another silence enveloped the table but it was a comfortable silence.

Once lunch was finished Levi washed up, he had to make sure everything was clean, they can't risk getting sick from having a dirty house. Once Levi was satisfied with the cleanliness of the kitchen, table, and utensils; Levi took his spot at the window once more, he wasn't sure what he was looking for but he was sure he would know it when he saw it. As night began to fall he grew tired; he had been sat there all day now, his sister watching over him. "Kirstein, Arlert, you take over till dawn." Levi rose from his spot and took Mikasa's hand, leading her to the first bedroom. Her eyes were practically shut as he pushed her onto the single bed under the window, he took the futon on the floor and waited for sleep; thankfully it came quickly.

When Levi woke up the room was already light, he felt uncomfortable from sleeping in his uniform for yet another night but without clothes to change into and clean running water, he had to endure. He looked over to the bed, Mikasa was still sleeping, he might as well leave her, some rest would do her good. He made his way soundlessly into the main room where the rookies were playing cards whilst also keeping watch. "Kirstein, Arlert, you are relived, now take your card game and bog off." He usually had quite the 'potty mouth', as his friends often said. The rookies were quite used to his attitude, you had to be after living in this apartment for four days.

The rookies cleared up and moved off to the second bedroom to let Mikasa sleep and give their superior some space. Levi took his place at the window, watching the waves roll onto the white sand beach below. It was about to be another long day which much repeated the ones that came before until Levi spotted a person down amongst the moving undead. As he watched the person was joined by another, they looked like soldiers. Their dark green camos were splashed with blood, they were running towards the block of flats where Levi was watching from. 

Standing and peering out the window he knew he had to do something. "Arlert, Kirstein, get Mikasa, we have survivors!" Levi called out, he pushed the window open and called out, hoping his voice would carry. "THIS WAY!" The two soldiers looked up and began to run purposely towards the tower, Levi turned away from the window to see his officers facing him. "Get the door open." They worked in silence as they removed the barricade on the apartment door, "Arlert, Kirstein, stay here keep this door closed until we return." He then grabbed a bloodied bat from the umbrella stand, his sister followed suit. They made their way to ground level, the bottom door leading outside was unlocked, hopefully, the soldiers would make it.

The officers were halfway down the stairwell when the door opened and closed, Levi looked over the railings and called the soldiers up. The pair were running and for good reason. The undead were close behind. Levi and Mikasa retreated back upstairs, the soldiers closing in, waiting at the top of the stairs where they greeted the soldiers with a pointed look at the now open apartment door. It was a race now, Mikasa led the soldiers to the door while Levi booted the first undead over the railings, the body thunking all the way down. He began to move backward now, fending off the undead until he turned and slipped through the almost closed door. They worked quickly to barricade the door before collapsing on the ground in heaps.

After a pained silence filled with panting breath and many curse words, the soldiers finally looked at their rescuers. The man spoke, he had a neat two-tone undercut, his blond fringe parted on one side and tucked behind his ears. He had big eyebrows and a deep frown, his companion was a young woman, she had brown hair and a lightly freckled face. "Sergeant Erwin Smith, Corporal Ymir. Scouting Regiment." Sergeant Smith indicated to himself and then his companion before extending his hand to Levi. Levi looked at the man's hand, it was hideously dirty and covered in blood. Levi wrinkled his nose at the sight, refusing to shake the Sergeant's hand. "Charmed, I'm sure. I'm Sheriff Ackerman, this is my partner Deputy Ackerman and our subordinates Cadet Arlert and Cadet Kirstein." Levi introduced his officers to the soldiers. Another silence enveloped them before the Sergeant spoke. "I'm grateful that you chose to help us, any longer out there and we would be goners." Levi nodded, he couldn't imagine leaving anyone out there.

"It was the least I could do, I am an officer of the Law after all." Levi shot Armin a look which he knew to be his superior's' 'Tea' face. Armin stood up before looking down at everyone. "Would you like tea sir, ma'am?" He knew that Levi and Mikasa would have a cup so the question was directed at the soldiers. "Yes, thank you." Sergeant Smith answered for himself and Corporal Ymir. Armin excused himself leaving the three officers and two soldiers on the floor. "Will you be staying long?" Mikasa asked folding her arms across her chest. Levi shot his sister a stern look. "Sorry about her, she's just worried about our supplies." Levi nodded his head at her making her get up and storm off, he gave the two soldiers an apologetic look. "Kirstein, move yours and Arlert's stuff into my room. We'll leave the officers your room for the time being." Jean muttered a 'yes sir' before stalking off, not pleased about having to move rooms. "Come with me." Levi stood up and brushed himself down and walking into the front room where he usually sat all day.

The officers followed him with no complaint, there was a small sofa in the front room which they could sit on. "Your hospitality is more than generous, Sheriff." Sergeant Smith said with a bright smile. Levi rolled his eyes out of sight of the soldiers. "I hope if things were reversed, you would do the same for us." Levi's cold silver eyes met Sergeant Smith's icy blue eyes. 

"Quite." He said through a closed mouth. An uncomfortable silence fell over the three of them until Armin bought tea in. The nights would be longer now and food would become scarce quickly.


	2. Twelve Days After Infection

The sun broke after a particularly stormy night, the slick streets had been washed clean. Hordes of undead stumbled about with little or no direction. From a grated drain lid, eight fingers and two thumbs poked up, gripping the cold wet metal. Lots of huffing followed as the person tried to lift the drain lid but the heavy metal didn't budge. The person yelled a little before letting go of the metal, dropping down onto the sewer floor, the curved walls were slick with slime and other unsightly things that are best not described. The boy stood on one side of the sewer line, a deep valley was cut through two concrete paths in which a sickly green gloop seemed to travel. The boy had been in the sewer line for eight days and the smell no longer bothered him but his wound was becoming an issue. He had nothing to clean it with and so it had become infected.

"Damn it." He cursed, his entrance had caved in shortly after he arrived and his only way out was the manhole above him but he couldn't get the weathered lid to budge. He hunched over, wincing from the pain. His side was an open wound, he had made his shirt into a make-shift bandage but his blood only seeped through more. He looked up at the grated lid before jumping up to it again, propping his feet against a dry part of the wall and shaking the lid angrily. He was about to give up hope when a hand touched the tops of his fingers. He went to flinch back when he saw a pair of magnified brown eyes looking at him, the person was covered in blood. "It's alright, I'll get you out of there." It was a girl, it appeared that she had used the blood and guts of the infected to camouflage herself amongst them.

She gripped the lid once the boy had let go and gave it one huge pull. With a grating sound, the lid finally moved from its casing. The boy jumped up just as before gripping the manhole, his fingers on the ground at long last. The brown-eyed girl helped him out before pulling him into a shop and baring the door. "I'm Doctor Hange, this is Nurse Krista." The boy noticed a petite blond girl standing in the shadows, he nodded to acknowledge her. "I'm Eren, Eren Yeager." He spoke softly, his ocean green eyes were like portals into clear crystal pools, the Doctor was captivated by them. "Why were you in the sewers?" She asked finally, removing her glasses to clean them on a clean cloth. "I was attacked, I found my way in but that entrance collapsed and I couldn't get the drain lid to move."

The nurse had moved over quietly, Eren flinched when she touched his bleeding abdomen. She muttered a small apology before she completely removed the make-shift bandage. When she saw the wound she gasped and moved away quickly, pointing at the visible bite mark there. Eren met Hange's eyes, his hands raising in submission. "You were bitten." She stated, putting her glasses on. "I've been in the sewers for eight days, I'm not infected." The doctor frowned, usually, any bitten turned in a matter of hours but Eren seemed healthy enough, he wasn't feverish and wasn't craving human flesh. "Eight days? After being bitten? Impossible." She couldn't seem to believe it, it was impossible but Eren had done it. "Please, you have to believe me, I'm not infected." Hange looked at Eren before smiling at him. "You might be it, our way to the cure. If you have an immunity to the infection, then your blood might hold the key."

Eren met her crazed look, he was now cupping his seeping wound. "I won't be much good if I bleed to death here." Hange nodded and grabbed the first aid kit that Nurse Krista was holding and began to patch Eren up. Eventually, Krista opened up to Eren, while getting him food and drink. "Have you seen any soldiers? We were with them but got separated." Eren shook his head, he had a poor viewpoint in the sewers. Krista nodded, knowing that the likely hood of finding them again was slim to none. "Are you alright to travel tomorrow Eren?" Hange asked walking over, her bloodied coat replaced with an equally dirty white medical coat. "I should be fine, thanks. Where will we be going?" Hange sighed and looked out of the boarded window before pointing at a block of flats.

"There are survivors up there, if our soldier friends saw them, that's where they went and that's where we're going." Eren nodded, that made sense, the soldiers would try to find a safe place to crash while also aiding survivors. "Get some rest, we move at first light." For a doctor, she was very uniform, she was probably a military doctor. Eren found a spot where he could sleep and quickly lost the world around him. He had only been asleep for a few hours before Hange was waking him up. "Eren, we have to go." Eren woke with a start, startled, he had dreamt of being trapped in the sewer again. Eren rubbed his face, clearing the cold sweat which had formed there. He grabbed a jacket from one of the racks and pulled it on, covering his arms and his wound. The streets were quiet and empty, now was their chance.

"Ready?" Hange questioned, taking Krista's hand, Krista looked at Eren and offered her hand, he took it. "On three; one, two-" Hange pushed the door open slowly. "-three." They all moved at once, pushing off at a full sprint in the direction of the apartment building. Their shoes clattered on the wet ground, echoing off the buildings to create louder sounds. They had crossed the street when a huge cry ripped the air, they stopped and hugged the brick wall watching for movement. A shadow flashed past, they had been spotted. Now it was an all-out sprint to the apartment block, Hange and Krista drew ahead, Eren was fit but he was also injured and that was keeping him from running fast. The two medical professionals slipped into the building while Eren struggled to keep up.

Once inside they barred the door and continued to climb the tower. The stairwell was full of blood and the occasional growl, they were not alone. When the had reached the top floor, the floor on which the survivors were hiding, they were all exhausted. One door seemed oddly sturdy and closed, unlike its brothers. This must be where the survivors were. Hange knocked lightly, hoping that they would grant them access. There was a long pause followed by scuffing furniture, the sliding of a lock and the door slowly opened to reveal a short man with a raven black undercut and cold silver eyes. Eren noticed his uniform as did Hange when she introduced herself. "Doctor Hange, have you seen two soldiers- a Smith and Ymir?" The man rolled his eyes and pushed the door open, the three of them walked inside to see four police officers and two soldiers. The officers quickly locked and barricaded the door, ensuring their safety once more.

"Smith, these people say they know you?" The man said pointing to the three new arrivals. The soldier addressed as 'Smith' jumped up and ran over, embracing Hange. "Hange-" He pulled Krista into a tight hug too. "-Krista, God I thought we'd lost you." He pulled away and looked happy, almost. Krista and the other soldier, presumably Ymir, embraced in a tight almost suffocating hug. "You scared me, you silly girl." They pulled part and had pink cheeks. 

Eren stood against the wall near the door careful not to meet anyone's eyes until he saw three familiar faces. "Armin, Jean, Mikasa - God I thought I would never see you guys again!" They all hugged in the entrance hall. Eren pulled away and grabbed Armin, pulling him in for another hug. "Like I would leave my best friend here alone." Armin said with a light laugh. Jean ruffled Eren's messy brown hair with the same happy but not pleased look he always gave Eren. "Glad your not dead shit-bucket." Eren felt so happy to see Jean that nothing could ruin his mood- "EREN!" -or so he thought. Mikasa pulled his stolen jacket off to reveal the bandage on his stomach.

"Eren, what happened?" Eren could feel all eyes on him now, Mikasa's shout had made every head turn, probably in a thousand-mile radius. "Uhm-" He began, he wasn't sure if he should tell them about the bite. "Oh, he was bitten." Hange said lightly, the room suddenly became very hostile as fists clenched and hands reached for hidden weapons. "Hange, explain it to them!" Eren said pressing himself into the wall. Hange laughed and pulled her glasses off, "Eren was bitten nine days ago." 

The raven-haired Sheriff snorted, "Impossible, no one survives the infection." Hange looked over at him with a huge grin, replacing her glasses back on her face, making her eyes grow in size. "That's where you're wrong, I checked the wound when I cleaned it and I watched him sleep last night, he hasn't turned, he is our last hope." The room remained still and silent, Eren wished he had just stayed in the sewer where he wasn't bothering anyone.

"Fine, but if he turns on us, I'll kill him." The officer said frowning at Eren, "I'm Levi by the way, Sheriff Levi Ackerman." The Sheriff then stalked off, he was a pretty intense guy. After that everyone calmed down too, leaving Eren in the hall. He wasn't fussed though, since getting bitten he had liked the silence. But it usually meant something bad was going to happen.


	3. Thirteen Days After Infection

Eren was closely watched that night, Levi had a clear line of sight from his spot at the window where he could see the teen. When dawn broke and he was relieved from his post by Sargent Smith, as the Sheriff walked past Eren, he paused. The teen didn't look so good. Levi knelt down and carefully placed the palm of his hand on Eren's sweaty forehead. "Damn, you're really heating up, kid." Levi saw the dark flush on Eren's cheeks and his panting breath. Something was definitely wrong. Levi stood up and turned to one of the bedrooms, where Hanji, Krista, and Ymir were all sleeping. He carefully stepped over to the doctor and rose her quietly. "Sorry to wake you so early Doc, but I think Eren has a fever." Hange's eyes widened immediately, when they returned to Eren, he was gone.

The door to the bathroom was open and heaving could be heard. "Eren?" Levi muttered, moving subconsciously towards him. He pushed the door to see Eren hunched over the toilet bowl but he wasn't being sick in a conventional way, blood dripped from his lips and was splattered around the toilet bowl. He looked up at Levi when the door opened, blood dripped from his lips and his watery green eyes were full of fear. 

It looked like he was trying to say something but whenever he almost succeeded he turned and heaved into the bowl, more blood dripping from his lips. Levi dropped down and rested a hand on Eren's back but Eren flinched. Levi withdrew his hand but he caught a snatchet of words escaping Eren's sticky red lips. "Pain...hurts...help..." Levi turned to Hange, determination in his eyes. "What's wrong with him, you said he was alright?" Hange walked over calmly, knelt down, and touched Eren's skin lightly, even then he flinched away from her touch. "Hurts..." He forced the words out, tears leaking from his eyes.

Hange stood sighed and looked over at Levi. "I need to check his wound." Levi nodded and turned to Eren. "This is going to hurt, bare with it for now." Levi gave Eren the warning before reaching out and pulling Eren into his lap, Eren trembled under his touch and whimpered when his head finally rested on Levi's lap. "Hold still now." Levi reached and grabbed Eren's wrists in a tight hold. Hange nodded at Levi and took her position, pinning Eren's legs. 

Now it was the slow task of undoing the seeping bandage, the cloth was soaked in red and brown and the smell - Oh the smell that rose from the wound, it must be infected, like puss or something. Levi shuddered at the thought. "Smith, get everyone up." Levi shouted out to the waiting soldier. A few moments later and everyone was awake, the rookies had to guard the door -in case Eren's screams bought the infected- Smith took his place at the window once more, Ymir helped Krista who helped Hange. Mikasa tried to get Levi to switch places with her but Eren seemed fine where he was.

The last part of the bandage was removed, the skin on Eren's stomach was tanned and slightly toned but where the bite was the skin rippled and twisted; it had been torn by teeth marks. Deep cuts made by incisors and canines, blood oozed from them. The skin was bruised there too, a dark black bruise ran under the teens' skin, darkening the wound. Levi had noticed but Hange sat back on her heels after the bandage fell away. "Oh God, it wasn't like this yesterday!" She seemed confused, what did she mean 'it wasn't like this yesterday'? Did she mean the wound? Had it got worse overnight? No, even Levi knew that's impossible, and if it did, why now? Why not before? "We need to fix this or he'll die." Hange's words were fading out of Levi's hearing, his eyes were locked onto Eren's wound, how had it gotten this bad?

"Levi?" The officer looked down at Eren his ocean green eyes looked up at him, no longer full of fear, just pain -no agony, his eyes were filled with agony- but they were only staring at Levi. "Talk to me -the pain-" Levi smiled Eren, Levi never smiled at anyone but he smiled now. "Alright, what's your favorite colour?" Levi said holding his smile to keep Eren focused. "The colours of-of the oc-ocean." He said in one breath grunting as Hange began to clean and stitch the wound. "What did you want to be before all this shit happened?" Eren closed his eyes and bared his teeth before replying. "A...police of-officer." Levi stopped and looked down at the boy. "Why did you stop?" Eren spasmed, and scrunched his eyes, and growled in pain before replying. "Could-couldn't complete train-training. Anger- argh!" Levi shot a look at Hange who apologized quickly.

So Eren had wanted to be a police officer like his peers but the academy let him go due to his temper. Poor kid. "Where are your parents in all this?" Eren shook his head, squeezing tears from his closed eyes. "Not ar-around any-anymore. Mum murdered. Dad miss-missing." Levi had to move his hands, Eren was fighting against him quite a lot, he must be in a lot of pain. "An orphan huh? Well, you don't need to worry any more Eren; Mikasa and I will look after you." Eren met Levi's and forced a smile onto his sticky blood-stained lips. "I'd like that." He said in a quiet whisper. Then Eren passed out.

It was a few hours before Eren woke up, they had placed him in one of the bedrooms but had also handcuffed him, just in case. Levi stayed by his side until Eren woke, he sat upright before Levi could stop him. He then hunched over and winced in pain. Levi forced him back down. "Hey, lay down, you're still healing." Eren met Levi's eyes and stopped fighting. "Thank you." Eren's voice was sticky with blood residue, making it difficult to talk. "No need kid, I just did what any officer of the Law would do." Eren shook his head and reached his hand out, taking Levi's gingerly in his shaking hand. 

"Thank you for talking with me, it really did help." Most of Eren's words came out like a whisper but Levi heard them. He looked down at the teen again and smiled a small smile at him, one only meant for his sea-green eyes. "Don't mention it, it might have been your dying wish so I had to." Eren let out a shaky laugh, turning his head away slightly. "Yeah-" He breathed the word, he thought it had been more than a dying boy's last wish, but he wouldn't force the officer on the subject. Levi returned to his seat, watching over Eren as he fell back to sleep, soon they would have to leave the apartment as there were now too many of them and too little food, they also needed to move Eren. If Hanji was right and Eren was immune, then they could cure the virus but they couldn't do it here.

A few more hours, after night had fallen again and Levi had dozed off after Mikasa took his place, the soldiers were looking at Maps of the area, trying to figure out their next goal and the route there. It wouldn't be easy with Eren's wounds but they couldn't afford to wait, and the soldiers knew something the others didn't. 

The small beach town was ground zero for the virus and it was going to be firebombed -nuked beyond all recognition- and they were running out of time. Twenty-eight days. That was what the last order had said. Twenty-eight days to evac any uninfected survivors before the town was destroyed. They only had thirteen more days before everything here at the beach died. The clock was ticking and time was running out.


	4. Fifteen Days After Infection

Levi and Smith convened a meeting in one of the bedrooms, it was a tight squeeze but Eren wasn't ready to be moved yet. Levi sat on the pillows, Eren had his head on the officer's lap, in replacement of the pillows. Mikasa sat on the bed, her legs over Eren's. Jean was sat on the only desk not being used to bar the door, Armin sat on him. Krista and Ymir both sat on the floor together, leaving Hange and Sergeant Smith to stand. "We need to talk about the food and water shortages." Sergeant Smith spoke low and clear. "To be frank, we have nothing left. All the food rationing was for nothing, there was too little food here for the number of people that we are. Now, with that being said, I know of a safe area not far from here, I suggest we move there-"

"What if it isn't safe anymore?!" Jean questioned loudly before even his own brains could stop him. "Kirstein?" Levi hissed at him before the Sergeant replied, with a laugh. "That was my first thought but I know the people there, their fortress wouldn't go down, even if they died." Hange now held up a map that had been drawn on. "We're here." Sergeant Smith pointed to a small black dot on one of two towers. "We will be heading here." He moved his hand to a large red circle around what looked like a mansion. "This is Fort Utgard; it's been decommissioned for years and recently became a museum, run by two ex-army types who will have fortified the whole place."

"When will we move?" Levi asked looking down at Eren quickly. "At dawn, any longer and we might not have the strength to move." Levi frowned and shook his head. "We can't move yet Erwin, Eren isn't strong enough-"

"We don't have a choice Levi, we have to move now and when we have the highest chance of survival. Everyone get ready, we move at 0500 hours." Erwin didn't even meet Levi's eyes before he left, Hange rolled the map up and sighed looking over at Eren. "You might have to leave me, Levi, it might be the only way-" Levi covered Eren's mouth, silencing him. "Don't talk like that, I won't leave anyone behind." Eren nodded and tried to sit up only to grunt in pain and fall back into Levi's lap. "I can't do it, Levi, not before tonight, I'll tear the stitches if I move too much." Levi sighed and closed his eyes, he would give Eren pain killers but they didn't have any. "We just have to get you standing, after that, it'll be alright." Levi didn't want to even consider leaving him behind, he wouldn't survive on his own.

After a long hour, they finally had Eren on his feet but he looked pale and his face was clad with sweat. His body quaked and shivered as Levi pulled warm clothes onto his narrow frame. "This isn't going to work Levi, I can barely stand up." Eren forced a small laugh which turned into a bloody cough which now stained his pink lips red. Levi pulled the jacket up to Eren's ears and smiled sadly at him. "It will be okay, no one will leave you behind." Eren nodded but wasn't convinced.

The day rolled into night and night rolled into early morning. Everyone stood by the door which was now unbarred, they carried heavy looking bags which had what little supplies they had left, mostly it was clothing and what little medical supplies they had. Eren held nothing, he could barely handle his own weight let alone a bag weighing the same. They waited for the Sergeants' signal, he counted on his watch before giving them the okay. They moved out of the flat in groups of two; Ymir and Christa went first followed by Mikasa and Hange, Armin and Jean, and finally Levi and Eren. Erwin walked out last pinning a sign to the door giving a brief location of their new safe zone.

They made their way to the bottom of the stairwell, Eren was already struggling. They unbarred the door here and eased the fractured glass open, careful not to make too much noise. Now outside, the sheer coldness of the ocean breeze tore their clothes to shreds, the sun hadn't yet risen over the city skyline so it was still as cold as night here. Winter was coming. They began to move towards their new destination; Fort Utgard.

Even now, Levi and Eren were at the back of the group. They slowly moved towards their destination but Eren quickly learned that walking fast and running felt the same and his side began to burn. They made it to their halfway point a little after lunch, they hauled up in a secured building and took a break. Eren leaned against a counter and pulled up a few of the layers to reveal blood, he had torn the stitches. He heard footsteps and quickly covered up, he didn't need to delay everyone with his problem. It was Levi. "We all good, Eren?" Eren met the officer's eyes and nodded, flashing a quick smile. Levi nodded and indicated for Eren to follow him. Stiffly he followed, holding back the pain behind a blank expression.

They moved off quickly now, sounds of undead were rising and their odds of making it grew slim. The sky began to darken when they finally saw the high walls of the Fort, floodlights illuminated the barbed wire which lined the tops. Erwin leads them towards a large gate that was blocked up. He stopped walking and frowned. "It should be open!?" He sounded confused, he walked over and rested one hand on the metal when a door in the wall just next to the gate opened and a man with a buzz cut and a gun looked out at them. "What's your business, stranger?" Erwin turned to face him fully, "Connie, it's me, it's Erwin Smith." The man, Connie, lowered his gun and frowned at Erwin.

"Is it really you Sergeant?" Erwin nodded, so Connie opened the door wider to let everyone in. They followed the passage until another door opened onto a courtyard. They had reached the other side of the gate. Eren was relieved because just then, he collapsed. Just as his vision faded to black he heard Levi calling his name. "Eren!"


End file.
